


Naruto and Flowers [discontinued]

by rivercah



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Inspired by Asagao to Kase-san, M/M, Mentions Death of a Parent, Naruto plays volleyball, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2020-06-28 00:26:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19800910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rivercah/pseuds/rivercah
Summary: Gaara wakes up really early to catch a glimpse of someone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [discontinued] Just a warning to anyone who'll start this: Won't continue this anymore. I've tried writing the next chapters multiple times in different situations for months but I'm really not happy with how I characterized Gaara....very bland. And honestly I can't bear reading the last chapters,it's so badly written to me. I'm sorry but I'll have to abandon this because I don't enjoy it anymore. Thank you for reading!

_Ten more minutes._

Gaara lost count of the number of times he had looked at his wristwatch for the past hour. He let out a quiet sigh. Ten more minutes until classes start. He dropped his arm and turned his attention back to the plants he was watering. He watched as the running water hit the leaves and fall to the wet soil. Plants _can_ drown, he reminded himself. One can’t be too distracted even with a task he was used to doing every day. 

But he really was distracted. He felt a bit embarrassed thinking back to when he had lied to his sister this morning. Temari had asked why he was coming to school an hour earlier than usual. The sun hasn’t even come up and he was already dressed to leave. He told her that he had to prepare the soil in the school garden. There were new flowers coming in the afternoon. 

_It wasn’t a complete lie,_ he tried to make himself feel better. He volunteered to take care of the flowers that would arrive. He didn’t have to come early, though. He would have plenty of time during lunch. Gaara never ate during lunch. Unlike the others running to buy lunch, he would walk past the classrooms to the rusty door at the end of the hallway. It led to the back of the building where the garden was. It also led to the track and field and was a few steps away from the indoor court. Those bits of information weren't relevant to him before.

Gaara walked slowly to where he had planted the herbs yesterday. He felt his hand getting heavy from squeezing the hose nozzle, which was fine for him since it helped him fight sleep. It was almost 6 a. m but the sky was still dark and the cool air didn't feel like the usual spring breeze. 

The truth is, he came early because a certain someone runs to warm-up at this time of the day. All he wanted was a quick look. Just a glimpse of him, of his bright smile, of his blonde hair in the wind, of his blue eyes… that’s all he wanted.

He only knew about Naruto's morning run because of Lee. He mentioned once that Naruto invited him to run with him in the morning. It was supposed to be their warm-up for their usual volleyball training. Gaara had asked why Lee refused since he’s someone who takes every opportunity to improve himself. 

“I have my own carefully planned morning training!” Lee had exclaimed proudly. 

Gaara blinked and realized he had been watering the newly-planted herbs too long. He could already see the faint hint of sunlight bouncing back from the leaves. Panicked, he quickly turned the hose away from the plants to his side. 

“Aah!” 

Gaara turned and saw that he had sprayed someone on the other side of the wired fence. He turned the hose away to avoid further damage. 

It took Gaara a second before recognizing who it was. The sunlight spilling from the figure’s shoulders made it hard to see their face. Once Gaara’s eyes adjusted, he took in a deep breath. It was Naruto. He’d recognize those whisker marks anywhere. Naruto was looking down at his drenched shirt. He didn’t look angry, though. Naruto chuckled to himself and looked up with a playful grin. Gaara knew he was being dramatic but it felt like the rest of his day was going to be a good day after seeing Naruto’s smile. 

“I’m sorry,” Gaara finally said as he turned the hose nozzle off. “I didn’t see you.” 

“Yeah...” Naruto trailed off with a shrug. He rubbed his nose and gave Gaara a thumbs up. “No problem, though! I sweat a lot so I have a lot of extra shirts.” 

Gaara nodded and looked at the limp hose he was holding. He didn’t know what to say. He planned to come early to see Naruto run, but he didn’t expect to talk to him. Looking at him from afar was enough. Gaara was also nervous, obvious to him from the way his chest was tightening. This was the first time they had exchanged words. Talking to extroverts like Lee was already a challenge for him. Naruto was on a different level. 

“So, you’re here early, huh?” Naruto said. “I’m always early, too. Mornings make me feel really energized.” He raised his hand and played with a wire sticking out from the fence. Gaara didn’t even notice that before. The school really needed to fix the decade-old fence before it’s completely destroyed. Animals might slip in and destroy the growing plants he had worked so hard to take care of. 

“Actually, I’m always energized. That’s why I run a lot!” Naruto exclaimed. _He talks a lot even without being prompted_ , Gaara noted. He watched as Naruto's hands worked on bending the wire. “I’m restless if I’m not moving for a long time and it makes it harder to focus during a game.” 

“I can tell… “ 

Naruto's embarrassed laugh surprised Gaara. He didn't mean to say that out loud but he was glad that he did. Naruto's laugh, although loud, was a welcome sound to him. It sounded a bit raspy, like he had been laughing for hours already. 

The sun was up. It had already started to get warm, but not hot that it was uncomfortable. Gaara felt a sense of satisfaction seeing the transition from a dark and cold morning turning into a warm and sunny day. 

Gaara thought about how he couldn't remember what his own laugh sounded like. 

“Yep, I really move a lot.” Naruto let go of the wire and fanned his wet shirt. It didn't help with any drying at all but Gaara just let him do it. 

“Is that why you play?” 

Naruto looked up at Gaara and frowned. Gaara took a mental picture of Naruto’s current expression. Although his eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead, the right was a little higher than the other. He had his lips out in a pout and his eyes were half-closed. It seemed like he was upset, but that was his thinking face. Focused would be the right word to describe his expression. Gaara found it very endearing. 

“I don't know. I just like playing.” He finally answered. “Hey, you know I play volleyball?"

It wasn’t an accusation, but Gaara was flustered. He didn't want to seem like a stalker. Thankfully, Naruto saved him from his dilemma. 

“Oh, I just said something about focusing during a game.” He rubbed his nose. “Heh! I’m kinda forgetful.”

Gaara would love to watch him play. He had heard from Lee that Naruto was amazing, especially when he’s on a streak. He’s a spiker, of course, because that’s where Naruto thought all the attention was. Lee really talked about Naruto a lot, much to Gaara’s appreciation. 

“Anyway,” Naruto stepped back from the fence and stretched his arms in the air. “I’m Naruto. I’m a second year.” 

_I know,_ Gaara thought. “Me, too. My name is Gaara.” 

“Bushy brow’s friend!” Naruto grinned. He must have noticed Gaara’s confused expression because he corrected himself. “Oh, I meant Lee. You’re friends, right?” 

Gaara was going to ask how he knew about his friendship with Lee, when a figure ran behind Naruto and grabbed the back of his shirt. 

“Hey Loser,” Sasuke spat, although with a hint of playfulness in his voice. “You tired already? After 3 minutes of running?” 

Naruto pushed his arm away. “I stopped running for like 3 seconds.” 

Sasuke scoffed. “Excuses....” 

Naruto pushed him and muttered something under his breath. Gaara guessed they were insults, but he couldn’t make them out. Sasuke looked at Gaara with no interest at all. Lee had told him that Sasuke kept to himself and kept a small inner circle. Gaara thought he shared similarities with Sasuke.

Sasuke turned and ran ahead. Naruto sighed as he watched Sasuke’s retreating figure. He looked at Gaara with a warm smile. “Well, I gotta go run again.” 

Gaara nodded. He was both relieved and disappointed. He barely spoke but he was exhausted, probably because he was still nervous. Yet, he wasn’t uncomfortable unlike when he was around other people. Naruto made him feel like they were close friends. Seeing how he’s always surrounded by people, Gaara thought it was probably his charm. He could befriend anyone. 

He noticed that Naruto still hasn’t left. Much to Gaara’s surprise, Naruto was holding up a fist against the fence. He was smiling at him expectantly. 

“What are you doing?” Gaara put down the hose. 

Naruto dropped his head and sighed. “I’m asking for a fist bump, Gaara.” He looked up at him, seeming determined. “You better get used to this.” 

Gaara gave him a small smile and put his fist against the fence. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if I wanna leave this like this. Just wanted to start something bc of Asagao to Kase-san. Hope you enjoyed


	2. Chapter 2

The walk home was usually a quiet one for Gaara. Instead of walking through the main street, he always took the long way to the bus stop. Not that he wanted to avoid the cars and the people. He definitely took the long way only for the view.

Small homes spilling with greenery lined the back road that he went through. There were mostly vegetables and only a few flowers peering through the gates. Morning glories and camellias were the most common flowers he would see. 

Gaara tended to space out as he observed his surroundings. If he took the main street he would have bumped on so many shoulders. This back road was a safer route for him and his wandering mind.

He thought back to his first meeting with Naruto this morning. Gaara didn’t want to hope, but that fist bump had to mean something. Maybe he can finally be friends with Naruto instead of just listening to Lee talk about him. Or maybe Naruto fist bumps everyone since he’s a friendly person. Or maybe Gaara looked awkward so he decided to say goodb—

“Gaaraaaa!”

If it was midnight and if he was in a horror movie, the way his name was yelled would have been the signal for his end. But it was a beautiful afternoon and it wasn’t a ghost calling for him.

“Naruto?” Gaara muttered to himself.

Naruto was on his neon orange bike and riding towards him. Gaara could already feel his chest tightening from either nerves or excitement. It was probably both at the same time. 

A loud squeak echoed in the empty road when Naruto stopped. From the corner of his eye, he saw a cat run into hiding from the sudden sound.

“Hey, Gaara! I saw you turn to this corner so I called for you,” Naruto paused to catch his breath. “But you didn’t hear me.”

“Ah, sorry.” 

Naruto smiled. “Anyway, where are you going?” He got off his bike and walked with it beside him

“I’m going home.” He replied. Gaara couldn't help but focus on the fact that Naruto’s bike was on his left side, which meant Gaara and Naruto were walking side by side. Just a few inches and their shoulder would touch. Gaara shook the thought away. 

“Oh, do you live somewhere here? Makes sense since these houses seem to have a lot of plants.” Naruto said as he looked around. Gaara felt a warm sensation in his chest. Naruto assumed he liked plants because of their first meeting in the school garden, and he was right. He loved taking care of them, nurturing them, and seeing the end result of hard work. What made him happy though is that he has crossed Naruto's mind.

Gaara looked at him from the corner of his eye. He was wearing their spring uniform which was basically just a white button-up shirt and dark blue trousers. His collar was up and the first two buttons were unbuttoned, revealing a black inner shirt.

He looked up at Naruto’s eyes, which were as blue as ever. This was the first time he saw his eyes up close. They were darker than he thought. For some reason, he thought his eyes were as light as the sky.

Naruto turned to look at him. “So, do you?” 

Gaara looked away quickly, hoping Naruto didn’t notice how long he was staring. Temari had told him some people consider staring rude. He didn’t want Naruto to think he was rude.

“Do I what? Sorry," He sighed. "I spaced out again."

Naruto laughed and lightly pushed Gaara’s shoulder. “You know, I always get told that I need to pay more attention when someone’s explaining something to me.” He scratched his head. “I end up thinking of a bunch of things at the worst times so I get you.”

Naruto stopped walking to kick a stone that was blocking his bike’s way. “Anyway, I asked if you live around here.”

Gaara stopped and waited for Naruto to remove the stone by hand. He couldn’t kick it away. 

“I live far from the school. I was walking to the bus stop.” He answered as he observed Naruto struggling with a small stone. When he finally got it out from under the wheel, he jumped up and threw his fist in the air.

“Yay! I’m the best!” He yelled.

“Don’t yell…” Gaara gestured for him to put his arm down. “The people here might hear you and complain.”

Naruto blinked at Gaara and grinned. “If you’re so worried, why are you smiling, huh?” He teased.

Gaara looked away and tried to hide his smile from him. He couldn’t help it when he saw Naruto being so happy because of a rock. He has so much energy but it didn’t feel overwhelming. it was cute. 

“No, don’t do that! I wanna see.” Naruto walked faster so he was ahead of Gaara. Naruto was trying really hard to see his face, leaning his body too much to the left. Gaara could do nothing but smile bigger at how funny Naruto looked.

Naruto rubbed his nose and had a grin so big that his eyes were half-closed.

Gaara didn’t know if he took a sharp inhale or if he stopped breathing for a second. That face was the face he had always wanted to see up close. For months he would only see that when he passed by Naruto and his volleyball friends in the hallway. Now that he’s seen it, he didn’t know how to act. He hoped that his hot face didn’t mean that he turned red. That would be embarrassing. 

Naruto turned and was already walking ahead of him. It seemed like he didn’t notice how Gaara’s world stopped. Gaara sighed and kept walking. 

The walk to the bus stop felt faster than his usual walks. Naruto kept talking about how his teammates Sasuke and Sai kept exchanging annoying arguments during their game today. He said that it distracted him, but Sakura, their manager, put them in their place. Gaara listened quietly and smiled at how Naruto would use his hands a lot while talking. 

The bus came not even a minute after they arrived at the stop. Gaara wished it would have come later but the bus is always on time, unfortunately. 

“Uh, so see you tomorrow at school?” Naruto scratched his cheek. 

“Yes,” Gaara replied. "See you." 

Naruto slowly got on his bike. It was an awkward goodbye, and Gaara didn't want it to end like that. He felt like the happiest person during that walk. He wanted Naruto to know that he made him feel happy.

“Thank you, Naruto. I’m glad we’re friends now.” He blurted out. Gaara hoped he didn’t sound dramatic but he was already embarrassed. He didn’t want to see how Naruto would react so he hurriedly got on the bus. The only time he allowed himself to look outside was when he was already seated.

Naruto had his fist out and was pointing to it with his other hand. He was mouthing something, but Gaara didn’t need to hear what it was. He already knew what to do. He placed his fist against the window and smiled at Naruto.

Gaara loved spring. It was the season when most of his favorite flowers bloom. He was glad that his favorite person arrived on his favorite season.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to continue this because I'm not satisfied with leaving them as just friends :-) I tend to leave things unfinished but hopefully this will be different. I wrote things in the first chapter that's meant to build up to something so I'm also excited. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for feedback! Appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be short because I decided to split a chapter in half. I haven't finished the other half but it won't take too long for it. I also added a tag to warn you that the death of Gaara's mom will be mentioned. It's not much, just a few words in a paragraph but I figured I should add that tag warning. Sorry if this all seems messy....I don't know how to plan :( But thank you for reading!

The hallway was packed with students rushing out from their classrooms. Lunch was a busy time. Desks get rearranged, chairs turned, and the room gets filled with chatter. Gaara preferred it to be quiet, but he couldn’t really do anything about it. All he could do was stare at the clouds from the open window and wait.

Once he noticed that the footsteps in the hallway got less loud, he decided it was time for him to go.

Temari got mad at him when she found out through Kankuro that he skips a meal every day. It wasn’t his intention to not eat during lunch. He gets hungry, but he would rather wait a few more hours to eat than be in the middle of a chaotic environment. The school was small, and every corner there would be a group of students eating and talking. Gaara’s only safe space was the school garden.

He passed by the indoor court on his way to the garden. The squeaking and thumping of shoes could be heard from inside. Gaara wondered if Naruto was in there practicing. 

It’s been weeks since the day he walked him to the bus stop. Nodding at each other in the hallway was all the communication he had with Naruto for the past weeks. He was disappointed and hurt, he could admit that. Although he couldn’t really blame anyone but himself. Naruto had a lot of people surrounding him, and Gaara is not someone special. There are far more interesting people than himself. He thought things would change, and that he would finally be friends with Naruto, but apparently, it’s not his path to get too close to the sun.

Gaara’s eyes lit up when he noticed from afar that one of the flowers showed signs of new bulbs. The flowers had arrived already grown but were yet to bloom. Gaara spent weeks making sure to give them the best environment to reveal their flowers. Now he’s so close to seeing the fruit of his labor.

He bent down and gently held the budding plant. It was the daffodils, and Gaara couldn't be more excited. Daffodils were his favorite flower. Seeing one bloom would be the highlight of his year. 

The sound of the chain fence rattling made Gaara turn. 

“Gaara!” Lee yelled. He was clinging to the fence and shaking it. Lee had his athletic uniform on, which consisted of a white shirt and shorts. Accent of blue stripes were on the collar and shoulder seam.

“Hi, Lee.” Gaara greeted him with a small smile.

“You’re not eating again?” Lee observed. “If you keep doing that, you’re going to be too weak to take care of your plants.” He let go of the fence and slid down to sit on the ground cross-legged. “Wow, I’m tired.”

“I don’t think I need to be as strong as you to take care of plants.” Gaara replied.

Lee gasped. “But you need to carry pots!” 

Gaara shrugged. He strolled over to the fence and kneeled down in front of Lee. He feels the most comfortable with him. They’ve been friends since they were kids. He used to live in front of Lee’s house, which was how they became friends. They only moved a few years ago after his mom died. 

“Are you training alone again?” Gaara asked. Lee looked like he had been swimming in sweat from how drenched he was. Gaara used to worry about Lee pushing himself too hard, but Lee reassured him that he knew his own limits.

“Nope! Coach said we were gonna do a practice game and I wanted to run a bit before we played.”

“Oh,” Gaara sighed. “Isn’t it too much to practice even during lunch? You already have after-school training.”

Lee wagged his finger in front of his face. “We need to train as much as we can. The tournament is in a few months!” Lee stood up and stretched. “Anyway, aren’t you hungry?”

Gaara looked up at him. “Yes, but you know how I don’t like being around so many people.”

Lee closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes, yes. It’s still not good to skip a meal.”

“Are you going to tell Kankuro again?” 

Lee widened his eyes. “Gaara, I’m sorry! I already told you...I was just concerned.”

Gaara smiled. “I know.”

“Hmm...do you want some bread then? You could eat it here.” Lee twisted and turned his body, probably warming up. Gaara wasn’t athletic, so he couldn’t really tell what Lee was doing.

“Sure,” Gaara answered. He stood up and dusted off his pants. He regretted kneeling down when he saw that there were soil stains on his pants.

“Okay, come with me inside and I’ll give it to you. Meet me in front of the court!” Lee jogged away as he told Gaara what to do. Gaara didn’t even bother answering. He was already too far away to hear, anyway.

As Gaara walked away from the garden, a realization dawned on him.

He might see Naruto.


	4. Chapter 4

Every step that Gaara took felt like he was wading in thick muddy water. Anxiety was bubbling from inside his guts, and he thought to himself once again that he was being dramatic. There wasn’t any guarantee that Naruto was inside the court, yet all Gaara could think about was seeing him, _actually_ seeing him. The hallway glances didn’t count.

Lee was already standing in front of the court. A metal door with chipped red paint was the only thing separating Gaara from the chance to see Naruto. Lee was gesturing for him to walk faster. He tried to walk faster, but his slow footsteps betrayed him. He wanted to see Naruto, but his nerves were telling him not to. If only everyone knew the effect of Naruto’s mere existence to him….

“I can tell you’re hungry because that was the slowest walk ever.” Lee teased as he pushed the door open. Once Lee was fully inside, bright lights flooded Gaara’s vision. It took his eyes a few seconds to adjust. He followed Lee inside and turned to close the door gently, making sure the heavy door didn’t slam shut. Attention from a group of athletes was the last thing he wanted.

“Hey, everyone! This is my friend, Gaara.” Lee exclaimed.

Gaara sighed and turned hesitantly. So much for not being noticed…

The first thing Gaara noticed was that the volleyball team had a lot of tall people. But then again, he wasn’t much in the height department so everyone was taller than him by default. They greeted him with warm smiles, but Gaara still couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

Despite the crowd surrounding him, Gaara’s eyes were like a magnet when it came to Naruto. He instantly spotted him across the room. Naruto seemed to be setting up the net. Their eyes met, and Gaara felt like falling to the floor.

_Gaara,_ Naruto mouthed. He gave him a smile, the smile that makes Gaara feel warm throughout his whole body.

“My bag is over there,” Lee pulled him away from everyone, snapping Gaara back into reality. They walked to one corner of the room where a pile of bags were neatly organized. Gaara recognized the girl with the pink hair standing near the pile. She was always with Naruto whenever Gaara saw him in the hallways.

“Hi, Manager Sakura. I’m not trying to escape practice!” Lee quickly said as soon as Sakura gave him a look of suspicion.

Sakura laughed. “I didn’t even say anything.” She poked Lee’s shoulder as he passed in front of her. When she turned to Gaara, he felt like he was being judged. It wasn’t her fault, though. That’s just how Gaara felt every time he met a new person. Besides, he figured anyone who hung around Naruto was a good person.

“You’re Lee’s friend?”

Gaara nodded. “We’re childhood friends, we were neighbors.”

“Gaara!” Lee yelled from behind Sakura. He had his arms up and was holding a plastic-wrapped sandwich in one hand. “Catch!”

The normal response to that would be to hold your arms out and attempt to catch an object being thrown at you. Gaara, however, was the least athletic person he knew. His instinct was to close his eyes and put his arms up in front of his face to shield it from the threat of bread coming at him.

A few seconds passed and Gaara noticed that no bread touched his arms. He opened his eyes and saw that Sakura had caught it without even moving from where she was. Her arms were outstretched in front of her. Inside her hand was Lee’s sandwich, safe and sound.

“Nice, Sakura. You’re the best as always.” Lee commented as he walked closer.

Sakura handed over the sandwich to Gaara. It was an egg sandwich. “Lee, you have a strong arm. But you don’t have to show it off everytime.”

Lee frowned. “Then what am I training for then?”

“For volleyball. Go warm up!” She brought the whistle that was hanging around her neck to her lips and blew. Gaara flinched at the sudden noise.

He watched as Lee jogged to the center of the court obediently. Lee was always a hard worker, and he didn’t mind if he showed off his training to him once in a while.

“I’m Sakura, by the way.” She turned and showed off the back of her shirt. The word ‘manager’ was embroidered just under the neckline. “I’m the manager.”

“So have you seen Lee play?” She asked, turning to face Gaara again.

“Not really…” Gaara admitted. He felt bad thinking about how he hasn’t been as supportive of his friend. They’ve known each other for a long time but he hasn’t seen him play volleyball, which is obviously one of Lee’s passions.

“Really? You should stay then. They’re going to have a practice game in a few minutes.”

“Uh, well…” Gaara trailed off. He would love to watch Lee play, but he was also hungry. He couldn’t eat in front of a lot of people, even if they weren’t paying attention to him. Not to mention the one person he’s been trying not to think of is here. How could he munch on an egg sandwich with Naruto in the room?

“Gaara!”

Someone had spiked a ball with full force to the ground, making a thunder-like sound echo throughout the court. But that wasn’t the reason Gaara froze. Hesitantly, but brimming with excitement, he looked at the center court. A familiar blonde was jogging in his direction.

Naruto’s sleeves were rolled up, exposing his arms. Gaara tried to ignore that and looked further up, which was a bad decision. Naruto was smiling so big that his cheeks looked like apples, round and pink. He seemed like he had been warming up for a long time, but not one trace of exhaustion was on his face. _Refreshing_ was the only word that was on Gaara’s mind.

“Hey!” Naruto hopped to Gaara’s side playfully. His shoulders lightly bumped Gaara’s, and he swore he felt a jolt of electricity at the unexpected contact. All Gaara could do was mutter a weak ‘hello’ back to him. Gaara felt like he was on fire, and it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was suffering. 

“Are you here to watch?” Naruto asked.

Before Gaara could answer, he asked Sakura, “Can he watch us practice?”

Sakura tapped her chin thinking of a response. Gaara didn’t mind whatever her answer would be. But Naruto has approached him after weeks of not talking, and he would definitely prefer a ‘yes’.

“Come on!” Naruto said after a few seconds of silence. “Gaara wouldn’t be a distraction.”

Sakura smiled at Naruto. “Really?”

Naruto rubbed his nose. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Sakura was still looking at Naruto, so Gaara looked at him too (with all the courage in his being). There was nothing wrong with his face or anything, he looked like his usual self. They seemed to be sharing an inside joke, and he wondered how close Naruto and Sakura really were.

“Okay,” Sakura finally said. “I’ll tell Coach Yamato, just as a heads up. I’m sure he won’t mind either.”

As Gaara watched Sakura walk away, he wanted to reach out and tell Sakura not to leave him alone with Naruto. It wasn’t the first time he’d been alone with him, but he didn’t know what to say or how to act. There was still a tight squeezing in his chest, and he could feel every small movement Naruto made—Gaara was overly conscious.

“Come on,” Naruto tapped Gaara’s back with his palm. “Let’s find you a seat so you won’t get hit by a ball while you eat.”

Naruto had dragged a chair near the court entrance and right beside the scoreboard. Gaara sat down immediately, his knees had been weak ever since he stepped inside the court. Naruto does that to him.

“So how’s your garden doing?” Naruto asked as he dragged another chair next to Gaara. He angled it in a way so that he was sitting facing Gaara but not blocking Gaara’s view of the court. 

“Ah, pretty good. Some of the flowers are blooming.” He smiled fondly as he thought of the daffodils budding.

“Really? That’s so cool! You’re really working hard, huh?” 

“No, no. _We,_ me and other students worked hard.” Gaara corrected him. Even though he was proud of the garden, he couldn’t take credit for everything. It still was a school garden that some students volunteer to take care of.

“Eh, you spend the most time on it.” Naruto shrugged. He looked at Gaara and quickly looked away. “Lee told me you’re always in your garden.”

He didn’t think Lee would talk about him to his volleyball friends. Gardening was just a hobby and not a passion like Lee playing volleyball, but he felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that someone other than Lee acknowledged the time he spent in the school garden.

“Sorry for kinda ghosting you, by the way.” Naruto said in a low voice. “I started bothering you for a day and then I left it like that. But it wasn’t intentional!” He threw his hands up in defense, despite Gaara not saying or doing anything.

“I wanted to walk with you to the bus stop again after that day,” he pulled at his ears. “But practice started getting crazy. And I didn’t know how to contact you.”

Gaara’s face felt hotter, but he was happy that Naruto actually wanted to be friends with him. The mere fact that he felt bad about not being able to walk with him, something he really didn’t have to do, made him feel ecstatic. Gaara couldn’t believe he was actually hearing Naruto say those words.

“You could have asked Lee to tell me,” Gaara remarked.

Naruto’s jaw dropped in a theatrical fashion. He took a deep breath and tapped his forehead. “Sometimes I’m so dumb!” He exclaimed.

“No, you’re always dumb!” A voice called out from the other side of the room.

“Shut up, Kiba! No shower, no opinion!” Naruto yelled back.

The two continued to yell insults at each other, but the words ‘dumb’ and ‘idiot’ were the most frequent in the exchange. It was all so petty, but Gaara found it amusing. It was clearly just friends teasing each other. He wondered if someday his friendship with Naruto would reach that level.

“Oh my god, just practice right there so you don’t suck!” Naruto yelled before facing Gaara again. Kiba kept throwing insults at him but he ignored it. He smiled at Gaara apologetically.

“Sorry, he’s so annoying.” He got up and walked towards Sakura, who was flipping numbers on the scoreboard. Naruto whispered something to her that made Sakura grin. She gave him a piece of paper and a pen before pulling at his cheek.

Gaara felt a pang in his chest, even though he knew he didn’t have the right to be hurt. He was just a new friend, and it was obvious that Sakura was closer to Naruto than he thought she was. Maybe he would ask Lee about them.

Naruto was scribbling on the paper as he walked back to Gaara. He folded it in half and handed it to him. When Gaara opened it, he tilted his head in confusion. Naruto’s handwriting was hard to understand. It reminded Gaara of the worms he would find in the garden, thin and made up wholly of curves.

“Wha-what does this say?” Gaara looked up at him for clarification.

“Okay, give me that. I’ll write it again.” Naruto snatched the paper back and wrote on it again. “This is my phone number, so I don’t have to use Lee as a messenger.”

Gaara must have made a weird face, because Naruto chuckled as he handed the piece of paper back to him. 

“You’re so cute,” Naruto turned and walked towards the center of the court. “I’m gonna go warm up.”

The nervous system processes things quickly, so humans would respond instantly to the things happening around them. Gaara thought that was not the case for this time. There was nothing instant about his response. He had to replay the last six seconds multiple times to make sure he didn’t hear things. When he was sure he heard Naruto right, he guessed it took his body about three long minutes to react to the information.

The reaction his nervous system decided to do was to make him bite into his egg sandwich without removing the plastic wrapper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it got a bit cheesy, or maybe even OOC. I hope Naruto wasn't too much OOC though. That was longer than usual and it wasn't a lot of Naruto and Gaara but I hope you still enjoyed! They're still in a developing friendship after all...but I would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you <3


	5. Discontinued

[discontinued] Won't continue this anymore. I've tried writing the next chapters multiple times in different situations for months but I'm really not happy with how I characterized Gaara....very bland. And honestly I can't bear reading the last chapters,it's so badly written to me. I'm sorry but I'll have to abandon this because I don't enjoy it anymore. Thank you for reading!

(I put this note at the beginning of the first chapter just in case someone starts it and doesn't want to read discontinued fics. Also I'm not sure if ao3 gives people notifs with every update, so I just included this as another chapter just to be sure yall see it. I'm so sorry)


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